Upcoming: The 64-team
NCAA Championship bracket will be announced Sunday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.

Aggies Close Out Regular Season at No. 14 Iowa State

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas
A&M (21-7, 10-5 Big 12) wraps up the regular season and plays its final
match as a member of the Big 12 Conference on Saturday as the Aggies take on
14th-ranked Iowa State (22-4, 13-2 Big 12) in Ames, Iowa. First serve is slated
for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.

A&M, which has already
clinched sole possession of third place in the Big 12 standings, had its
three-match winning streak snapped on Wednesday, falling to No. 5 Texas, 25-22,
25-29, 25-20, at Reed Arena. The match against the Cyclones concludes a
grueling three-match stretch in which the Aggies have faced the three teams who
were picked to finish in the top three in the Big 12, according to a preseason
vote of the league's coaches, with Texas predicted to finish first and
Oklahoma, who A&M swept in the season series, and Iowa State picked to tie
for second place.

ISU has won its last five
matches and is vying for a share of its first Big 12 title in program history.
Even if the Cyclones defeat A&M, they will need help from the Oklahoma
Sooners, who take on Texas in Austin. An ISU win and a Texas loss with result
in a tie between the two teams for the conference championship. The Cyclones,
who will be celebrating Senior Night against the Aggies, have not played since
a come-from-behind 22-25, 25-12, 25-15, 24-26, 15-12 victory at Baylor on Nov.
19.

AGGIE
QUICK HITS:

Texas
A&M has already clinched sole possession of third place in the Big 12
standings, as the Aggies hold a one-and-a-half game lead over fourth-place
Kansas State with only one match remaining. The third-place finish is A&M's
highest since 2004 when the Aggies tied Missouri for third place.

A&M
jumped three spots and is listed a season-high 27th in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
The Aggies are No. 19 in the NCAA RPI.

A&M
went 10-2 in home matches with its only losses coming against No. 5 Texas on
Wednesday and then-No. 15 Iowa State on Oct. 22.

A&M,
1-4 against ranked opponent this year, has won four of its last five matches
and has gone 7-3 in its last 10 matches to improve to 21-7. This marks the
first time the Aggies have reached 21 wins since 2007 when A&M went 21-10.
The last time A&M finished with more than 21 wins was 2003, when the Aggies
went 23-10 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.

This
marks the 13th season the Aggies have reached the 20-victory landmark in coach Laurie
Corbelli's 19 years as head coach of the Aggies.

Corbelli is
three wins away from her 400th A&M victory and the 500th win of her head
coaching career. A&M's longest tenured head coach in any sport, she is
397-193 (.673) in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 497-299 (.624) in
the 26th season of her head coaching career.

A&M
is 11-6 against teams in the RPI top 60, including a win against Northern
Illinois (16) and two wins each against Oklahoma (30), Baylor (42), Kansas (44)
and Creighton (58). A&M is 1-1 against both Kansas State (28) and Missouri
(32). Six of A&M's seven losses were against teams in the RPI top 30: Iowa
State (2), two against Texas (4), at Michigan (22), at Kansas State (28) and at
Missouri (32).

A&M
has led its opponents in assists in nine of the last 10 matches. The Aggies
have led in kills in eight of the last nine matches, including a season-high
plus 32-kill margin (73-41) in the win at Oklahoma last Saturday.

A&M
leads the Big 12 in kills, assists and aces per set and entered the week ranked
23rd in the nation with 14.14 kills per set and 27th in the country with 13.08
assists per set.

The
Aggies hit a Big 12 season-high .300 in the win at Oklahoma on Saturday and had
five players post double figures in kills for the second time this season.
Prior to this season, the last time A&M had five players post double-digit
kills in the same match was August 26, 2006, at Colorado State when the
30-point scoring format was in effect.

The
Aggies are 10-3 in three-set matches, 7-2 in four-set matches and 4-2 in
five-set matches.

A&M's
come-from-behind wins against Kansas and Oklahoma during the first half of Big
12 play marked the first time in school history the Aggies have overcome 2-0
set deficits in consecutive matches. The win against No. 22 Oklahoma was the
12th time in school history the Aggies have dropped the first two sets and come
back to win, and it was the fourth time in school history A&M accomplished
the feat against a ranked opponent.

A&M
began the season by winning its first nine matches and capturing three
tournament titles. The Aggies came within one win of matching the 2007 team for
the best start in school history before falling to Xavier, 3-2, at the
Michigan/adidas Invitational in the 10th match of the season.

Individual
Notes

Senior
middle blocker Elise Hendrickson leads the Big 12 with 0.34
aces per set. She has had at least one ace in 21 of 28 matches and has tallied
two or more aces in 11 matches.

Setter
Allie Sawatzky, who ranks fourth in the Big 12 with
10.44 assists per set for the full season, recorded the second triple-double of
her career in the win at Oklahoma last Saturday, posting 51 assists, 10 kills
and 12 digs. Earlier this season, Sawatzky became
thefirst A&M player to post a triple-double since the 25-point
scoring format went into effect in 2008 and the first player with a triple
double since 2004 when she tallied 11 kills, 46 assists and 11 digs in
A&M's 3-2 victory against Baylor on Sept. 28. Sawatzky,
whose career-high 60 assists in the win against No. 22 Oklahoma on Oct. 12 is
the most by an A&M player since Kristen Schevikhoven had 60 in a 3-1
victory at Colorado on Nov. 21, 2007, using the 30-point scoring format, has
2,174 career assists, ranking 10th in the A&M career records.

Middle
blocker Lindsey Miller is ranked fourth in the Big 12
and entered the week 60th in the nation with a .324 hitting percentage. She
also is fourth in the conference and entered the week 74th in the country with
1.13 blocks per set. In Big 12 matches only the 6-2 junior is third in the
league in blocks (1.25) per set and fifth in hitting percentage (.349).

Right-side
hitter Alisia Kastmo is second on the team among
starters with a .309 hitting percentage and 2.73 kills per set for the full
season. When she posts 10 or more kills in a match, which she has done 14
times, her hitting percentage jumps to .372.

Kelsey
Black leads the team and ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 3.88
points and 3.33 kills per set for the full season. She moved up to third in the
league in aces (0.28) after posting back-to-back aces in the match against the
Longhorns.

Black
had 16 digs against Kansas State on Nov. 5 to surpass 1,000 career
digs. She joins junior Tori Mellinger, who
became A&M's 19th member in the 1,000-dig club on Oct. 22, when she posted
13 digs against Iowa State on Oct. 22. Black, who
recorded her 1,000th career point against Oklahoma on Oct. 12 to become the
sixth A&M player to reach the milestone since rally scoring began in 2001,
also is approaching 1,000 career kills, needing 43.

Junior
libero Megan Pendergast has played in 27 of 28 matches
and has led or tied for the team lead in digs 18 times, more than any other
player. She has posted double figures in digs in a team-high 22 matches and has
posted 20 or more digs in four matches, including a career-high 24 digs in the
3-1 win at Baylor on Nov. 9. She leads the team and is ranked fifth in the Big
12 with 4.00 digs per set for the full season and is seventh in the league with
3.95 digs per set in conference matches only.

Black
leads A&M with 17 double-doubles. She has posted double figures in kills in
20 of 28 matches overall and double figures in digs in 21 matches, including in
10 of the last 11 matches.

Miller's
career-high nine blocks against Kansas State on Oct. 1 is still
the most by a Big 12 player in a three-set conference match and ties for the
most by a Big 12 player in all three-set matches this season.

Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have
started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has
played in all 105 sets. Kastmo, who
has played in 104 of 105 sets, has started all but five matches in which senior
Sarah Grace started for her in the back row
rotation.

A&M
had six players named to the Academic All-Big 12 Volleyball First Team. Senior
outside hitter Chelsea Ringel received special commendation
for achieving a 4.0 GPA. Others representing A&M on the first team are Grace, Hendrickson, Kastmo, Miller and Sawatzky.
Ringel is making her third consecutive appearance on the team, while Grace,
Kastmo and Miller are each making their second consecutive appearance on the
first team. Hendrickson and Sawatzky were named to the team in their first year
of eligibility.

A&M-ISU SERIES RECORDS:

A&M
leads ISU, 24-10, since the teams first met in 1981, including 22-9 in Big 12
matches only.

A&M
is 10-5 against the Cyclones in matches played in Ames.

ISU
has won nine of the last 11 meetings against A&M, including each of the
last five.

In
the most recent meeting, A&M suffered its first home loss of the season and
had a three-match winning streak snapped as the Aggies fell to 15th-ranked ISU,
25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, on Oct. 22 at Reed Arena. Tori Mellinger led
A&M with 14 kills and Alisia
Kastmo added 11. Megan Pendergast led the Aggies in digs with 17, and Mellinger
had 13 digs to complete a double-double. Black also had 13 digs, and Allie
Sawatzky finished with 10 digs and 42 assists. Lindsey Miller took team-high
honors in blocks with five. ISU, which outhit A&M, .206 to .165, was led by
Carly Jenson's 17 kills. Tenisha Matlock had a match-high seven blocks to give
the Cyclones a 9-8 edge in team blocks. Libero Kristen Hahn, who leads the Big
12 in dig average, finished with a match-high 19 digs as ISU outdug the Aggies,
75-50. A&M led in kills 55-53. The Aggies entered the match 15-0 when
leading in kills.

IOWA STATE NOTES:

The
14th-ranked Cyclones are 22-4 overall and are still in the hunt for a share of
the Big 12 title with a 13-2 conference mark.

The
Cyclones, who had a bye on Wednesday are one game behind league-leader and
fifth-ranked Texas, which hosts Oklahoma to close out the regular season. ISU
needs a win against the Aggies and a Texas loss to Oklahoma to grab a share of
the Big 12 title for the first time in program history.

ISU
will be honoring its four seniors Carly Jenson, Caitlin Mahoney, Kelsey
Petersen and Debbie Stadick, at Saturday's match. The class is the winningest
class in Iowa State history, winning 75 percent of its matches.

ISU,
which had a bye on Wednesday, is riding a five-match winning streak after
escaping Waco with a 22-25, 25-12, 25-15, 24-26, 15-12 victory at Baylor last
Saturday. The Cyclones, who had a season-high 15 blocks, including 28 block
assists, overcame an 8-2 deficit in the deciding fifth set. Carly Jenson and
Kelsey Peterson led the Cyclones with 17 and 15 kills, respectively, and
Tenisha Matlock had eight blocks. Kristen Hahn had a match-high 29 digs.

Sophomore
libero Kristen Hahn was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the
fourth time this season on Monday after averaging 5.50 digs per set as Iowa
State swept Kansas State and defeated Baylor in Waco, 3-2, last week. Her 29
digs against the Bears marked her sixth match of the season with more than 25
digs.

ISU
is holding Big 12 opponents to a league-best .160 hitting percentage in Big 12
matches only. The Cyclones are hitting .267 in conference matches, which ranks
second in the Big 12.

Carly
Jenson leads the Cyclones and is ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 3.96 kills and
4.45 points per set in all matches. In conference matches only, the 5-11
outside hitter leads the team and is second in the Big 12 with 4.11 kills per
set and 4.80 points per set.

ISU
returns five starters from last year's team that went 20-9 and ranked 25th in
the final Top 25 Poll after being upset by Creighton in the first round of the
NCAA Championship.

The
Cyclones, who tied Oklahoma for third place in the Big 12 last year, were
picked to tie the Sooners for second place this year, according to a preseason
poll of the league's head coaches.

Christy
Johnson-Lynch (Nebraska '96) is in her seventh season as head coach of the
Cyclones and boasts a 147-71 (.674) record. She was the starting setter for
Nebraska's national championship team in 1995, when current A&M Athletics
Director Bill Byrne was the A.D. for the Huskers. Lynch's husband, Joe Lynch,
serves as the volunteer assistant for the Cyclones.

LOOKING
AHEAD:

The 64-team NCAA Championship
bracket will be announced Sunday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU. First- and second-round
matches will be played Dec. 1-4 at participating institutions. Regional sites
are Gainesville, Fla., Honolulu, Hawaii, Lexington, Ken., and Minneapolis,
Minn., with matches played Dec. 9-10. The Final Four will be played at the
Alamodome in San Antonio, Dec. 15 and 17.

A&M is expecting to make
its 15th NCAA tournament appearance under 19-year head coach Laurie Corbelli and
its 19th appearance in the history of the program.